Book #44: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities has been one of my favorite books for quite some time. I first read it in my early years of college, maybe, and the first few times I read it I cried at the end. I cried because I couldn't believe Sidney Carton was sacrificing himself, because it was so beautiful and touching and amazing that he would do that. I LOVED that that was how the book ended. I loved Lucie and her selflessness, and her father and his recovery and strength, and I loved the detail of the lives in London and Paris (although not exactly what those details were, since the time in Paris was so gruesome and terrifying).

I don't know about this read-through, though. I feel like this time I noticed a lot of things that I didn't really love. Lucie's character is completely fantasized and made-up and not believable at all. She's the perfect, never-ruffled, always selfless female who never once thinks of herself. I do think there are people who are very selfless and all, but come on. People get exasperated sometimes, or tired, or wanting to do something for themselves--but not Lucie. I felt like Charles Darnay was also unbelievably good at the same time--so good, that he couldn't imagine anyone else being bad, so he keeps walking into traps that end in him getting put on trial. Come on, Charles! It was OBVIOUSLY a bad idea to go to Paris. He kind of was asking for it! And why did Sidney consider himself to be so bad and beyond saving? He totally was capable of being better (OBVIOUSLY, see the end of the book) but kept insisting he wasn't.

So I kind of feel like the characterization in this book is not Dickens's strong point. But the story really is compelling to me still. I like how Dickens shows that both sides of the French Revolution were horrific and nightmarish, and how he creates imagery that sticks in your mind of the conditions of life there (the one that stands out is when the wine-cask breaks and the people are licking it out of the streets). And once I got into the book, I was into it--and had a hard time putting it down until I was finished (even though I knew what was coming). I still would say this is one of my favorite books.

Book #43: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

This is a book that seems like it's come up again and again between Tommy and I; he'll mention it or say something like, "I've got the conch!" and I'll remind him that I haven't read it and he'll act all incredulous and talk about how he can't believe I wasn't assigned it in high school. SO I finally decided to read it! I've had it on our bookshelf forever, but I actually started it while we were in Ogden and pulled it off the Leiningers' bookshelves when I was bored one day, and finished it today.

I have to say that I wasn't really sure what to expect with this book; I hadn't really heard anything about what it was actually about before reading it. Brief plot review: This group of English schoolboys get stuck on an island and the story charts their descent from initial democracy into savagery and anarchy. It was a little shocking to actually get into it, and definitely depressing to consider that this is what Golding thought human nature really was like: when society and motivation for following the rules disappear, people become savage and follow an every-man-for-himself rule. It starts with fear--the boys were afraid of a "beast" on the island (which didn't exist) and let that fear dictate all their decisions and stopped doing what they were raised to believe was right and wrong--and it led to complete, all-out chaos with murders being committed by these young schoolboys.

Obviously, I seriously hope Golding is wrong. I do believe that (most) people are innately good and I don't want to believe that a scenario like that of Lord of the Flies could ever happen. But I can't rule it out entirely. Even though I found the book semi-disturbing, I'm glad to have read it to be more aware of this story and its part in our cultural conversation.

Book #42: Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough

I started this book while we were in Mexico and just finished it today. I feel like David McCullough's name is hugely familiar to me, so it's surprising that I hadn't actually read any of his books. I'd listened to the abridged version of John Adams with Tommy, and the Johnstown Flood with my family (both on road trips). But I am glad to have finally read one of his books, particularly this one on Teddy Roosevelt. I love that this book was about his background and upbringing, because it is so fascinating to hear about where people come from and what their families are like. It was very neat to learn about his family, especially because they were such a loving and happy and tight-knit group. I feel like much of the time you learn about people who do wonderful things despite their depressing beginnings (Abraham Lincoln is one that comes to mind) but Theodore Roosevelt is the complete opposite: ridiculously wealthy without a care in the world for money his entire life, surrounded by loving, caring family members, and always encouraged in all of his endeavors, no matter what he was trying to do. But he was still amazing in his personal accomplishments and achievements on his own, not just because of what his family contributed for him. I loved hearing about how he was so intensely curious about learning about science and the natural world as a child, and how his dad was one of the founders of the Natural History Museum in New York because of Theodore's fascination. I also loved reading about his asthma as a child and how his parents were tireless in doing what they thought was best to help him whenever he needed it. His parents both sound like they were fantastic human beings, who were super-rich but helped other people and really cared about other people. And his sisters, especially his older sister Bamie, were really interesting (and probably deserve their own books written about them too).

There were two things I wish were a little different about this book. First, I don't really know anything about Theodore as an adult or as President (all I remember is that he made Yellowstone a national park and the whole Bull Moose Party), so it would have been nice to have a little more information about what he did then and how his younger life contributed to his later accomplishments. Second, I didn't like how abruptly it ended. I felt like McCullough didn't even make an effort to wrap things up smoothly; he just barely introduced the fact that Theodore was going to be getting married and that he was about to go to England to meet his new bride for their wedding--and then the book ended. What?! I know that this book was about his younger years, but I felt like there could have been a much more graceful foreword to what was to follow for Theodore to finish off the book. All in all, I loved this portrait of Teddy Roosevelt and I kind of want to read a more thorough biography of the rest of his life now to find out what really happens--in more detail--for the rest of his life after the point which I read to in this one.